A Hawk For The Bush 2013 Imprint Sharp-shinned Hawk

[BestBeagler]

I'm enjoying this little hawk immensely so far! He gets fed roughly every two hours some times less but never more than 4 hours. I've been feeding only sparrows and starlings. I had my freezer full of small birds before I even got him. He eats about four/five sparrows a day so far. Very alert and active and easy to feed. Today he stood for the first time a couple of times for a few seconds. I keep him in a tall clear plastic tote under a heating lamp on a dimmer switch to adjust the temperature. I've used this in the past with imprints and it works a treat. I'll keep everyone posted to his progress. I will not be following any type of recipe. I have imprinted a few birds now and will go with my own methods and adjust accordingly.

[BestBeagler]

He's growing fast. He's starting to stand for a few seconds yesterday and try's to take a few steps. Today he's starting to try to walk (if you can call it that) and flap his wings! Eating lots of good sparrows and dipping the tidbits in water to keep him hydrated and making sure he gets the good fat and brains. They are special birds. He already is my favorite of all the eyases I have raised. There is just something about these guys.

[BestBeagler]

And here's a picture of my good friend Joe Katt and myself. We've been emailing and talking over the phone back and forth now for over three years. He taught me most of what I know about finding accipiter nests. It was great to meet him in person.

[BestBeagler]

These were just taken now. I sit with him outside a couple of times a day in then in the sun to get the vitamin D to make sure he grows strong bones. When he opens his beak I put him in the shade to cool down. He's something else how fast he grows.

[jeffandheidi]

He looks great!

[colelkhunter]

Don't let him fool you folks, here is Isaac in his natural habitat on sharpie day.

[BestBeagler]

Don't let him fool you folks, here is Isaac in his natural habitat on sharpie day.

LMAO yep on the ground looking up LOL. I hate climbing trees. Look at my chubby belly. I need to loose some weight. It takes me so long to climb and since I'm so fat I really need to dig those spikes in. I can do it. I'd climb almost anything if I HAD to. Thankfully, Joe was a good sport and did the climbing.

[BestBeagler]

He's growing fast. Petting him lots and playing with his feet. He's standing up and flapping now and again. I put anklets on him already. I have found the earlier I do this the better. Once they become aware of the use of their feet they do pick at their anklets a bit at first. Maggie the gos would still pick at her anklets out of boredom I think, but my guess is if I put them on before they gain the use of their feet and realize what they are the anklets might just become a part of them. In the past I would put them on early but always about the time they were standing well for a bit. This time I put them on really early.

[BestBeagler]

Here he is today.

[FredFogg]

Issac, he is looking great! Are you still going to go for a sore goshawk that you were talking about in a prior thread?

[BestBeagler]

Issac, he is looking great! Are you still going to go for a sore goshawk that you were talking about in a prior thread?

You betcha! I intend to fly the sharpie till the cover goes down and take it nice and slow with the gos and just enjoy the ride! Then put the sharpie up for a reverse molt and fly the gos early fall through the winter. It's going to be a dream year for me!

[tripwest]

really looking forward to the sharp-shin threads this year, bucket list #4 for me. thanks and can't wait to read how you plan on doing things

[wesleyc6]

He looks good Isaac. How much longer before you go to get your goshawk?

[BestBeagler]

Some pictures from this evening.

[wesleyc6]

Your bird is quite a bit younger than mine. Finn has some feathers so far out on his back that the white is showing.

[BestBeagler]

He's starting to tear off of the scored carcasses now and really working them over. I am surprised to find he prefers to work on the carcass himself over me feeding him? I usually find they prefer the freebee easy to eat tidbits offered but he actually would rather use his feet and pull his own food. In fact on more than one occasion he could be enticed to eat by dropping the tidbits in front of him for him to pick it up on his own. I will still offer him food from my fingers but also just leave a carcass in there for him to work on when he wants. I'll post some picture of him latter on today.

[BestBeagler]

He thinks he's a brancher now :) He jumped out of the basket himself. I fed him some sparrow from my fingers. So far he is very gentle and picks at the little pieces of meat. I don't trust him to self feed from the carcass entirely yet. He's preening away like crazy!

[jeffandheidi]

Hey Isaac, how's everything going with you and the shin?

[BestBeagler]

Hey Isaac, how's everything going with you and the shin?

Very good! I love this guy just like we all feel about our shins! I told my wife yesterday this little hawk is my favorite hawk I have imprinted and I think I would cry if I lost him LOL. So, I will only be hunting him in the open country and not risk hawking in the city unless we are in big fields. I just don't want to loose him due to a collision. If I can reduce the odds anything bad happening I will.

He is seriously maybe three days behind yours and Wes's bird maybe a bit more. Everything you and Wes see in your birds I see in mine and I mean EVERYTHING. From the squatting while muting to instinctual butt dunking when getting lightly misted in the rain the other day. It's amazing.

Since mines a few days younger I see a sneak peek into what mine will do a couple days ahead. You guys are doing such a good job with your threads and since yours are a head of mine I've just kind of stopped putting the updates as much. You guys better be out in the field before me though!

[Breeze]

Hey Isaac! Enjoying your shin thread immensely. Thanks for posting and will be following your guy along with all the others. Look forward to all the hunting stories!

[BestBeagler]

Here are some pictures from this morning. He's younger then the others on here. He's plucking and pulling on whole sparrows but it's just exercise at this point. I still feed him from my fingers to fill him up. He is not as hungry in the morning compared to the evenings and is not as hungry as often.

[BestBeagler]

I still have him under the heating lamp turned down low at night. I wonder if I can stop with that tonight. I feel better safe than sorry and he seems to like a little heat still.

On another note, I heard that shins like bathing and boy they sure do! I take him out a couple times a day in the hot sun and mist him with the warm water that's in the hose.
He enjoys it to no end. So funny watching him. When he's done he jumps up to his nest box soaks up the sun and preens away.

I have not had to tie him down at all so far. Compared to the rest of the guys on here this bird is staying in his basket most of the time or perches on the edges and handles. I also have him higher up in the house too so that may help but even outside on the table he doesn't have the urge to take off for higher perching spots. I wonder if it's because he's just younger than the others.

[BestBeagler]

He fledged yesterday he flew four feet. Today he's flying 8 feet and landing pretty steadily. I tied him up for the first time and attached his jesses. It was non eventful him being tied up for the first time.

I am hand feeding this bird from my fingers and his manners so far are great. He's very patient and waits for me to feed him. I pluck the bird in front of him and the feathers really get him going. Then, I open the bird in front of him and just pull off pieces of meat and he just waits till I hand him his tidbits and he takes them gently. He lowers his body and head and backs up a little and takes the tidbits gently. I really like how things are going with him so far. I will sometimes give him a whole carcass to feed on and I will feed him tidbits as he eats of the carcass. He looks forward to the tidbits offered from my fingers.

I have not been that "touchy feely" with him since I've had him. I have not made a huge effort to touch his feet or anything like that. I've just gone with the flow and enjoyed the imprinting process. I haven't gone out of my way to spend a ton of time with him. I spend time with him when I feel like it. He's spent a decent amount of time in the car while I drive. Today while I was driving he jumped out of his basket that was in the passenger seat and jumped up to my shoulder and fell a sleep cheeping at me and preening my hair. I was kind of surprised at how affectionate he was.

I've thrown every set plan/recipe out the window this year and just following some foundations and things I have learned in the past and it's so much more enjoyable for me. I'm trying to emulate nature as close as I can when imprinting this bird. We'll see what happens in the future but I'm enjoying the present!

[FredFogg]

He is looking great Isaac! Man, I feel for you folks in Michigan, to have to put a temporary band on a sharpshin is about the stupidest thing I have ever seen! frus)

[BestBeagler]

He is looking great Isaac! Man, I feel for you folks in Michigan, to have to put a temporary band on a sharpshin is about the stupidest thing I have ever seen! frus)

Thanks! He has been the most fun imprint I have had so far. The imprint male coops I tame hacked was a close second. Next year I will look for sharpies rather than goshawks I love these guys so much I can't imagine not having one.

[passager]

Beautiful bird Isaac.

[wesleyc6]

He's Growing for sure. Looks good!

[hcmcelroy]

He looks good and great management...just go with the flow.

Harry.

[Breeze]

Isaac, he's beautiful! Love the way you describe working with him, too. Awesome bird!

[BestBeagler]

Wow, a lot of changes for this little guy in a short time. A change of plans happened. My intention was to tie him up as soon as he learned to fly but yesterday I had to go check up on goshawk nests and could not take him as I had to do a lot of hiking and did not want to tie him up when I was not around and my wife did not like the idea of risking anything going wrong when I was away that might have to be fixed that she might have missed. So she closed all the blinds turned off all the fans and covered the mirrors and my house became a mew.

She actually loves this imprint much more than others I have had. I was getting updates all day on his progress. My wife is a teacher and claims he has ADHD. He won't stay in one spot for long. He will take off for something and then change his mind right as he gets there and veer off to another spot. He is killing imaginary birds all over the house now and constantly picking up things and dropping them. Yesterday, he landed on the world globe and walked around the world like it was a tread mill. :). He eats on his own terms. I feed him at his nest basket like the parents would. He "homes" back to it often through the day eats a few bites from the sparrow carcass and then flies off and comes back and eats some more. Yesterday, he ate SIX sparrows! Blew my mind he could pack that many away but he is burning a ton of energy. In the evening he gets jumpy like all my imprints have done. Simple solution, I put his nest basket up higher and turn down the blinds and it darkens it enough that he just relaxes and calms down.

He sure is fun. I didn't like the idea of him learning his freedom but if I want to go with nature as a model for imprinting doing what I am doing is pretty close. Him flying back to the nest for food sleeping in it branching and learning to fly and land and veer around things. So maybe it's not the worst thing. Still, I he will have to have lessons in being tied up through out the day every so often. But he (and us!) are having so much fun and he is so entertaining to watch it's hard to tie him to a perch. He is especially imprinted to me and prefers I pick him up to all others in the house (my family is visiting) he will look at me and make content little cheeps. I sure do like this little guy.

P.S. It's snowing in July!

[BestBeagler]

I tied him up yesterday. He's flying around too good now and I am worried he will pick up speed and crash into something. That and the slices everywhere in the house are getting too much LOL. I wish I had hardwood floors. He fought the leash for a few minutes this morning when first tied up but that was it. He jumped up into his basket and hasn't bated since. So things are going good on that front. I'm going to start feeding him sparrows on the glove and maybe offer some baggies soon and start some lure work soon.

Would I be crazy to just use a small bird carcass as lure? For these little guys it's easy to do. The minimalist approach is appealing. My sole method of retrieval for this little guy will be calling it to the fist anyway. That's what I am thinking anyway.

[hcmcelroy]

Isaac,

As you know a number of imprinted accipiters have suddenly started flying indoors and crashed into windows.

A dead sparrow on a line would be hard to resist...

Harry.

[BestBeagler]

Giving him sparrows now. He went for them right away he knew they meant food. Probably totally unnecessary giving him baggies. I think the whole baggie thing is unnatural don't know why I am doing it but I am. Earlier training conditioning than necessary but there you have it.

On another note. I just heard from a friend that had a friend that had a male aplo die because he hit a window while in the car. So I won't be having my sharpie loose in the car. Never had a problem with the gos's or coopers in this scenario but I guess it can happen with smaller birds.

I'm training him to the GH as well. That's going good. Not much training. I put him in at night when he gets uncomfortable in the evening look for a safer place to roost and he just settles right down in the GH no fuss no nothing just easy as anything. No wonder people like these guys.

I talked to Brian on here with the other sharpie and he said for accipiters they are ever so alert of their surroundings. He was right. This bird is aware of everything that moves nothing escapes him. Tiny swallows coming in and out of view super high in the sky, leaves rustling, he is just much more aware of his surroundings compared to our other accipiters.

[PeteJ]

When you're at the bottom of the raptor food chain, you better pay attention to your surroundings right?LOL Enjoying the Shin threads even if I'm not chiming in much. Good to see so many making the attempt with them. Continued success...

[BestBeagler]

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted an update. He harpenned 3 days ago. I have not done any weight reduction and he’s been killing baggie sparrows for about two weeks now. I let the sparrows loose upstairs in my house a few primaries pulled and the fun begins. He will chase them for up to ½ an hour before committing to want to eat. In the meantime, he’s playing cat and mouse waiting for me to ferret them out from under furniture and corners to get them to fly. I’ll be hunting this week coming up. We work great together he will look at me once he’s got it cornered or the sparrows wedged itself and hiding for me to get it out for him. Got to watch where I step because he won’t move for me LOL telemetry in grass higher than my ankles will be a must!

This imprint has been the most fun imprint I have raised. I fed him from my fingers from day one, complete food association and I call him to the fist (no glove) for food. The relationship this imprint has with me has been the best of all my imprints. He chups, twitters, whines, screams, gives me the warning call when he senses danger he’s what I would call the hardest imprint I have had and just a joy. Oddly enough he’s also the bird I have put the least effort in socializing and exposing him to new things. It’s weird and I don’t know if it’s because he’s a sharpie or the fact that he’s been finger fed from day one but there is certainly a difference in his behavior to me compared to my other imprints. I don’t know if it’s the change of methods, the individual bird, or the species but his relationship with me is head and shoulders better than any of my other imprints and they were pretty good if I may be so bold to say.

Carrying has been a total non-issue so far (knock on wood). He kills a baggie (untethered). I let him break in while I just lay nearby. Once he calms down and breaks in I offer a pre-skinned sparrow carcass on the ungloved fist and he trades off as nice as you like; waiting for me not trying to fly off or look around. He trusts me more than any other imprint I have had. He prefers to keep his back toward me (he knows I have his back LOL) and keep an eye out facing the world. He prefers I tower over him as he eats. He finds it protecting. I had him outside today for some training and I could tell he was uncomfortable being in the open. He knows he’s bait for everything.

He is still an accipiter no doubt about it. During penning since I did not lower his weight he was just super charged for a day. I closed the blinds and turned off the fans and just let him blow some steam in the house, WOW amazing to watch him fly. I resumed letting him fly around inside just to give him some exercise and learn to fly and such. It did wonders for him rather than just keeping him perched. He’s an acrobat of the skies for sure! Amazing to watch what he can do. Anyway back to him being an accipiter. Yes, I notice the chittering at higher weights the bit more flightiness at a higher weight and he will show me where I slacked in exposing things to him as a youngster. So it’s not like sharpies are some super mellow hawk with no behavior idiosyncrasies. The beauty of them is their fast metabolisms. It helps I do think in working them out.
He loves his giant hood and finds comfort in it. I put him in there when he’s amped for some reason and evening comes. He hops right in, rouses, wags his tail, fluffs up and tucks a foot up happy as can be.

I think I will try raising my next imprint accipiter like this one. I don’t know if I will be in a world of hurt or not using similar methods I have used on this bird with say a coops or gos. I don’t know if it’s just because he’s a sharpie that things are just working out so smoothly or what. I have broken probably every ingredient in the “recipe” LOL and he’s still a joy and just the most fun imprint I have had. I have some ideas I’d like to try tweaking with a gos or coops. Anyway, to whoever reads this I hope you’re having a great summer! If you don’t hear from for a while it’s cause I’m out hawking and having fun! Hope you are to friends!

[BestBeagler]

Oh he's zipping to the fist instantly outside at 105.7gm he could have been a bit higher actually I think. He was a little too anxious for food I think.

[BestBeagler]

Some pictures from just now

[harrishawk_79]

Very nice isaac cant wait to c him fly

[wesleyc6]

Sounds like he is doing well Isaac. Looking forward to the hunting adventures. You apparently are getting better response that I was at that weight. Hope all continues to go well and we see some hunting photos soon on all these sharpie threads.

[BestBeagler]

Sounds like he is doing well Isaac. Looking forward to the hunting adventures. You apparently are getting better response that I was at that weight. Hope all continues to go well and we see some hunting photos soon on all these sharpie threads.

He's hitting weight twice a day. So, he's getting two sparrow bags a day. Once in the early morning and then again in the early afternoon. He still has not cropped up to his fullest extent. He'll eat most of the sparrow on the fist and then when he's done and the legs are still left to eat he'll fly to his perch. So he's not seriously hungry, though he thinks he is LOL. He's catching them now with only three primaries pulled on both wings and they are too easy for him. I ordered the trackpack today so as soon as I get it I'll put it on him and we should be ready to go.

[BestBeagler]

104gms killing baggies outside. Not on a creance anymore. A bit too heavy at 104 not trying to carry yet but typical baby bird stuff. Will be putting the track pack on here shortly. Have been using a merlin micro fmv on his tarsus but I really don't like it there. Bating less on his perch and quieting down unless I drop him again then he pipes up again. Tomorrow I will look for a sparrow filled field at 103gms and try our luck.

Very similar to Jeff's bird actually. He's still an accipiter for sure but just loads of fun. Now's the time I really need to get him keyed in to killing I've seen this stage with all my imprints. He's gamey for sure!

[harrishawk_79]

Sounds to me Isaac your about ready for the real fun to explode

[jeffandheidi]

Hey Isaac, it's just a matter of time!

If today is as good as the past couple days have been we will be ditching the creance also. I really can't wait for these birds to get in the field and see what full throttle looks like.

[BestBeagler]

106gms with the track pack and micro transmitter included all weights from now on will include the transmitter and backpack. So naked weight I would say around 100gm. We finally hit a weight where he wasn't disturbed much by petty things. He actually chased a starling out the car window veered off and landed in a big old tree about 200 feet away. I called him back to the fist and he took awhile but came back so hard and fast and BODY SLAMMED the fist. He hit the fist so hard I was worried about him.

Got the backpack fitted the way I like now. I think/hope it's good. Really like the concept and placement of the backpack but wish I would have done more conditioning work with him in preparation for it and put it on earlier. I have noticed him being a bit leery of me now after putting it on but it's disappearing pretty fast thank goodness. Didn't help I had to do it twice to get a good fit.

His keel point is hard to find. He's butter ball fat and well conditioned and the keel point is just buried in muscle. Hard to find the tip of it for a good placement especially when he's so tiny.

His yarak pose seems to be fluffed up with eyes wide and bright and his tail fanned he rouses it often. Amazing one day scared and bating from semi's passing by while he's in the car, the next not even paying them attention. Weight control matters.

[BestBeagler]

106gms yesterday. He grabbed a starling just as it took off yesterday and made it scream. The starling broke free mid air after it made a hard right turn. He went after it again but the bird escaped in the heavy weeds and brush. He was a bit high in weight, recall was slow, but rewards have always been good when he does come back so that keeps him hanging around. He finally did come and we hopped in the car and went home. We'll get one today I am sure. I've never bagged him on a starling so it's all new to him. Never even bagged him out the car window so it's all really new to him, but he's catching on.

[REYNALDO]

sounds like you are making good progress with him. soon your freezer will be full of starlings:D

[BestBeagler]

101.5gm harness and trans together weigh 6gm.

We are having more fun each day as the weights coming off (behaviors improving) and he is getting in the routine. He is calming down on the perch with a full feed but still gets jumpy in the evening. I put him in the giant hood over night.

If you wear glasses he will hit your face almost every time LOL! I found that out. He sees his reflection in them and pow! I've been taking my glasses off when I call him and that took care of it.

He's so much fun. Today we had a slip at some starlings he chased them hard and they made it to some thick cover. He shot up into a tall tree and just as I was calling him down a train came right under him! He took off and I had to track him down. He didn't go far but flew to some thick foliage (his usual practice for comfort). This this foliage happened to be a creek bottom. Bow was it thick! I was standing above it all looking down at all this stuff and thinking, "boy, if I even get down there I'll be so buried in greenery he won't even see me". Luckily, he communicates with me via the whistle and come finds me. He started to as I could see the receiver picking up the signal stronger then it got weaker and then pretty weak. So I had to go find him. Had to cross the creek and I could tell he was near the ground based on the signal then he sees me and starts calling. I whistle for him and just then I see him coming out of the water to me. He was taking a bath in the creek! Rather amusing I thought. He flew to the fist ate his good meal and we called it a day. Tomorrow we will try again.

[jeffandheidi]

Hey Isaac, glad everything worked out and he came back so fast. Take care of that little guy and please keep the updates coming!
Jeff

[BestBeagler]

100.5gm today. Our first kill! I slipped him at some starlings. He missed them. He then proceeded to fly from tree to tree but not wanting to come down. Then he went into a soar. Beautiful to see! Just soaring around higher and higher then he goes into a stoop and disappears. I'm following the signal and when I get near I see sparrows flying everywhere. I keep tracking him. I find him up a tall oak tree. He's up there close the the trunk with a sparrow in his talons looking as pretty as can be. I call him, he ignores me, then breaks out of his trance and starts plucking but looses balance and fly's to another tree. He does the same thing but takes it the ground in someones side yard between their house and some shrubs. I get permission to retrieve the little bugger and he's just sitting there as nice as can be not mantling not trying to carry just waiting for me. I whistle and get him to start plucking and then offer him the fist with a skinned sparrow and he trades off beautifully.

A great day! Still a little too heavy but everything worked together nicely.

[wesleyc6]

100.5gm today. Our first kill! I slipped him at some starlings. He missed them. He then proceeded to fly from tree to tree but not wanting to come down. Then he went into a soar. Beautiful to see! Just soaring around higher and higher then he goes into a stoop and disappears. I'm following the signal and when I get near I see sparrows flying everywhere. I keep tracking him. I find him up a tall oak tree. He's up there close the the trunk with a sparrow in his talons looking as pretty as can be. I call him, he ignores me, then breaks out of his trance and starts plucking but looses balance and fly's to another tree. He does the same thing but takes it the ground in someones side yard between their house and some shrubs. I get permission to retrieve the little bugger and he's just sitting there as nice as can be not mantling not trying to carry just waiting for me. I whistle and get him to start plucking and then offer him the fist with a skinned sparrow and he trades off beautifully.

A great day! Still a little too heavy but everything worked together nicely.

Congrats. Sounds both exciting and scary. Glad you got him back!

[wesleyc6]

How is he doing now Isaac? Any more luck? Yesterday I couldn't go till really late and got a few slips, but they all ended in trees as the birds got off the ground before Finn even got out the window. Today, it FLOODED, but it stopped and I bagged him on bird in the field. I just plucked some wing feathers to slow it down. He did pretty good on it and transferred well.

[BestBeagler]

How is he doing now Isaac? Any more luck? Yesterday I couldn't go till really late and got a few slips, but they all ended in trees as the birds got off the ground before Finn even got out the window. Today, it FLOODED, but it stopped and I bagged him on bird in the field. I just plucked some wing feathers to slow it down. He did pretty good on it and transferred well.

My wife and I went to IA to help her grandparents out for a week (grandpa had back surgery) so things have been a bit slow. But I've had some AWESOME flights. Very aerial flights skying up and out. A couple hundred feet out. I didn't think sharpies were supposed to do that. Then he takes a high perch and spots something and really picks up speed. Basically just like a wild bird. Very fun. His metabolism has really sped up with the cooler mornings and evenings.

I think I'll end this thread. It's been fun. Sharpies are a blast and like everyone says they really are that much work. They are a full time bird and full time fun!

[BestBeagler]

Oh, and he's flying at 100.5gm that was with the backpack and micro trans. Without it he's 94.5gm and he's lot's of zip to him.

[timgpp]

Any updates?
Tim

[BestBeagler]

Not much to report. I am waiting for the spring to come to do some prime hawking with the little guy. He is as fun as ever. Love these little guys.

[vlp]

Isacc

What's your setup for him? I'm thinking of changing my housing a little for my girl. Also, any issues with the backpack mount. I use a micro tail mount transmitter but would prefer the back mount. Any advise on the mounting or issues you ran into? I had one on my hen Merlin a few seasons ago and had some issues with her keel showing some abrasions. The wide x was not the best for her and I adjusted it to work better. Haven't tried one on an accipiter yet.

[BestBeagler]

Isacc

What's your setup for him? I'm thinking of changing my housing a little for my girl. Also, any issues with the backpack mount. I use a micro tail mount transmitter but would prefer the back mount. Any advise on the mounting or issues you ran into? I had one on my hen Merlin a few seasons ago and had some issues with her keel showing some abrasions. The wide x was not the best for her and I adjusted it to work better. Haven't tried one on an accipiter yet.

I love the setup I use now and will use it for every small raptor I fly. It's simple and just works great. It's a round 4 foot diameter plastic card table (amazon shipped it to my door for I think $100. It has cheap astro turf for a floor material (easy to spray off and clean). Half of the table is encircled with cardboard (4mm coroplast is better). Use a mini bow perch with a SHORT leash.

Tried the back pack and cut it off twice. Did not like it for him at all. He didn't like it either he didn't fuss with it but I could tell a difference in body language while he had it on. I attached the transmitter to the leg via a bewit or zip tied to the anklet. I will use a tail mount mounted way up the base of the tail later this year.

Not dissing the backpack but I didn't like in on this little guy and either did he.

[timgpp]

Can you please post a picture of your setup?
Thanks for keeping this post up, I do love reading it.
Tim

[vlp]

I love the setup I use now and will use it for every small raptor I fly. It's simple and just works great. It's a round 4 foot diameter plastic card table (amazon shipped it to my door for I think $100. It has cheap astro turf for a floor material (easy to spray off and clean). Half of the table is encircled with cardboard (4mm coroplast is better). Use a mini bow perch with a SHORT leash.

Tried the back pack and cut it off twice. Did not like it for him at all. He didn't like it either he didn't fuss with it but I could tell a difference in body language while he had it on. I attached the transmitter to the leg via a bewit or zip tied to the anklet. I will use a tail mount mounted way up the base of the tail later this year.

Not dissing the backpack but I didn't like in on this little guy and either did he.

Thanks for the info Isaac. I was not a fan of the backpack on my hen Merlin a few seasons ago. Right now my sharpie has a micro tail clip transmitter setup. She has lost one tail feather in the brush with the transmitter on. Might have been a freak thing so I was contemplating the backpack, however, after hearing your opinion ( 2nd one who was not a fan on their sharpies) I'm sticking with the tail mount. I'd also like to see a pic of your indoor setup if you wouldn't mind. Thanks.

[pj_elia]

Just a heads up on the tailmount, I had 2 deck feathers pulled out at different times on the female sharpy I had. After the first one pulled out, I thought it was a fluke and I waited until it grew back before attaching it to the other deck. It was quickly pulled out while she was tethered with the transmitter attached one day. That is with the Marshall Micro transmitter. My feelling is that it just doesn't take much force to pull a sharpy feather out. I've never lost a deck feather like that on any other bird.

Paul

[vlp]

Just a heads up on the tailmount, I had 2 deck feathers pulled out at different times on the female sharpy I had. After the first one pulled out, I thought it was a fluke and I waited until it grew back before attaching it to the other deck. It was quickly pulled out while she was tethered with the transmitter attached one day. That is with the Marshall Micro transmitter. My feelling is that it just doesn't take much force to pull a sharpy feather out. I've never lost a deck feather like that on any other bird.

Paul

I was worried about that Paul. I have a marshall micro also. I use a neck bell on her to hear where she was at and right now have the transmitter on the other deck. I guess I can zip tie one to the leg but I hate to risk footing ability. What did you end up going with?

[goshawks00]

Zip tied to the leg isn't an issue for sharpies... Good going!!

[BestBeagler]

Zip tied to the anklet not to the leg. I reply just to clarify for the newbies out there. You would never want to zip tie anything directly to the leg of any raptor in my opinion. I know some have used a zip tie bewit but have threaded the zip tie through some type of tubing i.e. aquarium tubing on larger birds which is a bit safer but I don't like it for a couple reasons which I won't go into.

Interesting observations on the tail mounts guys! I will have to rethink the method I will use next. Tiny little leg mounted trans although not ideal seemed to work ok. Might just try the back pack mount one more time. I do want it to work. I wish they had thinner thread for a these micro accipiters.

[goshawks00]

Actually it's the tarsus if you want to get pricky about it.

[goshawks00]

"Tried the back pack and cut it off twice. Did not like it for him at all. He didn't like it either he didn't fuss with it but I could tell a difference in body language while he had it on. I attached the transmitter to the leg"

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[vlp]

"Tried the back pack and cut it off twice. Did not like it for him at all. He didn't like it either he didn't fuss with it but I could tell a difference in body language while he had it on. I attached the transmitter to the leg"

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

We can keep marshall in business just with the reinstall kit. I cut off the Merlin's also and will not even be trying the sharpie after everyone's post here. It has worked great on my bigger birds. On a side note I use to use a neck mount on the Merlin . I used a small rubber bad ( Not zip tied toungeout ) and and put it on before each hunt. It worked great that way. Might work for my hen but the neck bell is there now.

[BestBeagler]

"Tried the back pack and cut it off twice. Did not like it for him at all. He didn't like it either he didn't fuss with it but I could tell a difference in body language while he had it on. I attached the transmitter to the leg"

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

The full sentence for your convenience " I attached the transmitter to the leg via a bewit or zip tied to the anklet." Thank you for pointing out the potential dangers otherwise though!

[BestBeagler]

Actually it's the tarsus if you want to get pricky about it.

I apologize if I came off pricky...

[BestBeagler]

We can keep marshall in business just with the reinstall kit. I cut off the Merlin's also and will not even be trying the sharpie after everyone's post here. It has worked great on my bigger birds. On a side note I use to use a neck mount on the Merlin . I used a small rubber bad ( Not zip tied toungeout ) and and put it on before each hunt. It worked great that way. Might work for my hen but the neck bell is there now.

Vincent,

Maybe I just didn't have the backpack set right. I don't know. I posted a thread on here regarding this topic. They crop up so full that their crops hang way over their collar bones and the ribbon seemed to restrict him from cropping up as full as he could. I just wish the ribbon was thinner I think it would help.

[goshawks00]

BTW I did say zip tied directly to the leg (tarsus) w/o anklet. There is no danger to the bird done that way, and I've done many sharpies for many years that way w/o a single issue.

[BestBeagler]

BTW I did say zip tied directly to the leg (tarsus) w/o anklet. There is no danger to the bird done that way, and I've done many sharpies for many years that way w/o a single issue.

I have always been worried of the zip tie tightening around the leg if it is put directly around the tarsus and also the potential negative effects that might come about if the bird was lost with this setup. That has been my personal feeling about this method. Then again I am paranoid to the extreme. Funny thing about that, it seems the more precautions you take the weirder stuff Murphy throws at you... We all do things differently for sure. The funny thing is, I thought you were criticizing the method insinuating that's what I was doing LOL.

[rkumetz]

I have always been worried of the zip tie tightening around the leg if it is put directly around the tarsus and also the potential negative effects that might come about if the bird was lost with this setup. That has been my personal feeling about this method. Then again I am paranoid to the extreme. Funny thing about that, it seems the more precautions you take the weirder stuff Murphy throws at you... We all do things differently for sure. The funny thing is, I thought you were criticizing the method insinuating that's what I was doing LOL.

I don't use a cable tie for the transmitter but I have used them a lot for bells. I do however use a piece of silicon tubing (like fuel line tubing for a weed whacker) over the cable tie to prevent it from closing further and to cushion it it so it is not directly on the scales.

Contrary to popular belief even black cable ties don't last forever and your bird is more likely to become lunch for a redtail or be killed in some other natural process than to be caught up on a cable tie. If the bird gets caught up on a leather bewitt it will die long before the leather degrades to the point where it will break.

[goshawks00]

My thought as well Ron. I would be more fearful of the jesses becoming the weapon of demise , and have saw first hand how they can hang up. In fact I sent a goshawk to a friend in Canada several years ago that got hung up on a power wire when the jesses self tied themselves to the wire. By the time my friend got the power company to come rescue the bird it had died.